This year’s NFL trade deadline was something else. Big trades have become the new normal around the league. No longer are blockbuster mid-season deals a rarity.
It started with the massive trade that sent Jalen Ramsey from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile, the league’s two remaining undefeated teams added an upgrade at receiver.
We’re diving into those moves and more looking at the biggest winners and losers from the NFL trade deadline.
Winner: Atlanta Falcons
Being able to acquire a second-round pick for your third-best receiver at the initial stages of a rebuild is something. That’s what the Falcons did when they dealt the 30-year-old Mohamed Sanu to New England earlier in October.
Sanu is good. However, he didn’t fit into the long-term plans in Atlanta. This trade also enables young stud Calvin Ridley to receive more targets moving forward. That’s a necessity for Matt Ryan and Co. This is the biggest key for a Falcons team that’s now going to rebuild on the fly. Sanu just didn’t fit into that model.
Loser: New York Giants
Giants general manager David Gettleman had a plan before he abondoned it by drafting Daniel Jones in April. He had another plan to build through the draft before abandoning it on Monday. So, we’re not exactly sure what the plan is in New Jersey. What we do know is that Giants yielded a third-round pick in 2020 and a mid-rounder in 2021 to acquire impending free agent defensive tackle Leonard Williams.
The Giants already use two defensive tackles in that of stud rookie Dexter Lawrence (acquired in Beckham Jr. trade) and Dalvin Tomlinson. Where does Williams fit in? At 2-6, the Giants hopefully didn’t make this trade for the remainder of the 2019 season. Even then, there are no guarantees long term. It just didn’t make much sense.
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
In desperate need of a proven pass catcher on the outside, San Francisco dealt a third and fourth-round pick to the Broncos for two-time Pro Bowl Emmanuel Sanders and a fifth-round pick. Sanders paid off immediately, recording a touchdown on his initial possession as a member of the 49ers in last week’s blowout win over the Panthers.
Some will question whether yielding two mid-round picks for an impending free agent makes sense. That’s until we realize the fifth-rounder San Francisco go back is going to be a dozen picks or so lower than the fourth-rounder it dealt. Now at 7-0 on the season, the 49ers made a win-now move. That’s what needed to be done. Period.
Loser: Los Angeles Rams
Is Jalen Ramsey good? Yes. He’s one of the best cover guys in the NFL and is just 25 years old. Los Angeles swung for the fences in pulling off this trade after losing three consecutive games earlier in the season. However, there are a lot more layers to this deal.
The Rams dealt away two first-round picks and change for Ramsey, without him committing to a long-term deal. The team is already paying Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks and Aaron Donald top-end money. How can the Rams fit Ramsey in long term while keeping the depth that will be needed in an ultra-competitive NFC West? We have absolutely no idea. Adding more fuel to this, Los Angeles dealt a fifth-round pick to the Dolphins in order for Miami to take on Aqib Talib’s contract and had to move Marcus Peters to make room for Ramsey. That’s a huge price to pay.
Winner: Oakland Raiders
Led by general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden, the Raiders’ brass had no built-in relationship with cornerback Gareon Conley. The former first-round selection was Reggie McKenzie’s pick. So it’s not a surprise that Oakland dealt the ineffective young cornerback away ahead of the deadline.
We are surprised that the Raiders were able to net a third-round pick from the Houston Texans in the deal. Conley didn’t fit in Oakland. The team is high on young corners Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson. Nabbing a mid-round pick to add to their draft capital was an absolute win for the Raiders.
Loser: Detroit Lions
Detroit found itself at 2-3-1 heading into Week 8’s action. The team still had legit playoff aspirations. After taking out the New York Giants on Sunday, Matt Patricia’s squad moved to .500. In between all of this, the Lions traded starting safety Quandre Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks. That deal included Detroit sending a 2021 seventh-round pick to Seattle in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick.
Needless to say, members of the Lions were thrown for a loop by this trade. It seemed to be more financial than anything else, with Diggs having just signed a three-year, $18.6 million extension. Promptly, the Lions lost fellow safety Tracy Walker to injury this past week. This is not the type of move that inspires confidence in a team that’s still in the playoff race.
Winner: New York Jets
We have to give the Jets credit. It was noted a lot ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline that this one-win squad was going to be a seller. However, it didn’t seem like first-year general manager Joe Douglas had a lot to offer other teams.
That changed big time when New York traded embattled impending free agent defensive tackle Leonard Williams to the Giants on Monday. This deal included the Jets acquiring a third-round pick in 2020 and a mid-round selection in 2021. Not a bad bounty for someone that was going to leave Jersey in free agency this coming March.
Loser: Houston Texans
This pretty much started ahead of Week 1, when the Texans dealt a bounty for left tackle Laremy Tunsil before giving away stud pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney for pennies on the dollar. It’s a symptom of the Texans not having a true general manager after shockingly firing Brian Gaine.
Though, the focus of this article is on deals that were made in October. That’s where Houston’s decision to acquire struggling young corner Gareon Conley from Oakland for a third-round pick comes into play. Sure these Texans have struggled against the pass. But yielding such a valuable pick when your war chest is already limited made no real sense.
Winner: Jacksonville Jaguars
As noted above, Jalen Ramsey is one heck of a football player. It just became too much for the Jaguars’ brass to handle. The Pro Bowler did not get along with team president Tom Coughlin. Jacksonville was not about to choose the corner over its top front-office figure. In the end, moving Ramsey made the most sense.
The simple fact that these Jags were able to add two first-round pick and a mid rounder for Ramsey is stunning. It sets the team up well moving forward as long as it draft well. It’s also important to note that the Jags have won two consecutive since trading Ramsey. It’s a clear indication that the corner wasn’t making a huge overall impact for the team. Sell high, and reap the rewards later. Jacksonville did just that.
Loser: Denver Broncos
Acquiring the equivalent of a third-round pick for Emmanuel Sanders was pretty solid for John Elway and Co. However, the team’s unwillingness to move fellow impending free agent Chris Harris Jr. ahead of the deadline made no real sense.
Elway seems to think his team is not in rebuild mode. That’s pretty much a pie in the sky mentality from the embattled general manager. Good organizations know when to sell. Unfortunately, the Broncos are going to remain in purgatory because of Mr. Elway.